Abstract
Gracilaria spp. (agarophytes) are cultivated by Panamanian communities to use directly as food and as important components of traditional medicines and remedies. These uses are part of the traditional culture of both the Guna Indians and the Afro-Antillean communities. One driving force to better understand the biology of the various species of Gracilaria is their additional, commercial uses based on the agars they produce. In this study, we evaluated the effects of two commercial, soluble extract powders of the temperate, brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum (i.e., Ascophyllum marine plant extract powder—AMPEP), and one which had a boosted potassium level (designated as AMPEP K+). Each was evaluated for any micropropagation effects on the tropical red alga, Gracilaria blodgettii, in three independent experiments each of which lasted 45 days (the normal grow-out period). The phyco-stimulatory extracts were tested with and without association with standard plant growth regulators which are commonly used in micropropagation practices for higher plants. Growth was measured as a function of increased fresh weight and the number of newly emergent lateral shoots. This study demonstrated that vegetative propagules of G. blodgettii treated with AMPEP at 0.1 mg L−1 provided significant contributions to the successful and sustainable supply of vegetative propagules (“seedstock”). We suggest that the costs and quality of seedstock production can be significantly reduced over traditional methods, thereby contributing to the establishment of much-needed, viable marine farming practices in the Panamanian Caribbean.
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Acknowledgments
The transportation to visit the seaweed farms and samples of the algae were donated by Gracilarias of Panama S.A. and Sea Farms. Thanks go to Amanda Burgueño of Global SLI for her advice in this study in following a good farm practice. Dr. María Rosa Alcover Arándiga and Dr. Vicente Chirivella González, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain are acknowledged for their guidelines. The authors wish to thank Ms. Jeimy Gondola for her support in the laboratory and Petro American Terminal S.A. for facilitating the areas near the ports that allowed for the installation of the algal cultivation tanks. The samples of AMPEP and AMPEP K+ were a donation from Acadian Seaplants. The authors would like to thank the journal reviewers for constructive feedback in the production of this manuscript.
Funding
The Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama under the research “Eco-sustainable culture of seaweed and its applications” and Messrs. Samuel and Guillermo Liberman, of Global SLI, undisputed patrons of scientific research in Panama, provided generous funding for this work.
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de Vega, G.B., Ulloque N, C.E., Hurtado, A.Q. et al. On the efficacy of an Ascophyllum-based, soluble extract in association with standard plant growth regulators on the micropropagation of the agarophyte, Gracilaria blodgettii, from seaweed farms located at the northern entrance of the Panama Canal. J Appl Phycol 32, 3211–3217 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-020-02168-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-020-02168-3